yeh kno wha u mean about R.O.T.R.. dem even put dem up on stage for a so called pozitive statment. not dat anybody really payz attention though. i* waz standing dar one year rite before beres come on & a nervous batty try to say someting on mic. crowd laughing all over tha place. so much for unity. dem dun kno! dey will never spearhead JAH value*. like dem do with many common church'z these dayz, ect.. like i* would walk into a gay joint & try to chatt rasta wayz. dem da fool & JAH knoz* dem try to diffuse iNi & take over Bob'z one love message it lookz like to i* when dem jump reggae bandwagon. have much more fyah for u batty & lezbo loverz but really am nah dat concerned about it & dont care to waste to much energy on topic besides pointing the obvious judgement JAH givez on your deversion of straight truth & simple morelz forwarding LIFE! -RASpects+

welcome to babywrong everybody. if u think u mus nah suffer in dis cricial time your just wicked. solid rock u use many taunting wordz dat try to break down character but only mek your self look brutial. dirtweed if i* waz a bigot why would i* be communicating with the i*. bun well your on a whole differnt subject(bible 101 here). hope all you can have some harmony snaping towlz in your golden shower. clean it up "bambaclot*"

Jahmeek I don't think their gay themselves they just don't agree with your viewpoint. I personally think it's wrong but I still love them. I will say that if someone asks me but I not about to start bashing them or saying they all in for the judgement. I let that be between them and Jah, no reason for I to get involved, what does it worth? I accept them as humans, and keep working on I own self, there still plenty of things I do that Jah would want to change.
ForwardZion...

jawheek you idiot - no one here claims to be gay (not that there is anything wrong with it) so why would you talk to us as if we are (<snapin (?) towls...&gt. i have done research on your type of behavior and it appears the cause of it is that you are unsure of your sexuality and, perhaps, even a closet gay. admit it jawheek, come on out of the closet. and keep your bigotry to yourself. ramble on dude - it only reinforces my theory.

in this day and time the least of my worries is sexuality of my fellow festival goers.
maybe i need to listen to my records backwards or someting but i don't have any reggae that deals with hate. i know there is a slackness/anti-gay component out there but me no deal with it.

dirtweed out of everybody on dis board i* must say your probley the most awful enemy a rasta mon could have* no RASpect @all. your probley not even going to dis show to watch fellow rastaz jamm on stage. your just here to analize & try to dis-credit iNi way of life. itez*

Actually do get hit on fairly often by gay men. It especially annoyed me at ROTR where I thought the Carribean atmosphere (on stage anyway) would've delayed that ****. The battyboys were even putting their hands up in the air when Cham acme on the stage to say "We burn battyboy we nah dweet & say sorry".
I don't watch people too much, I just want to be left alone in that respect. Well it appears Jahmeek & I agree once in awhile after all...if you all have a problem with the burning of homosexuality, stick with your tie-dye Americanized reggae and leave the Jamaican acts out yah.

Now that statement is downright hilarious. Even more so than your "used car salesman" joke the other day.
There is no Jamaican artist period, past or present, who condones the gay lifestyle. Perhaps the battyism defenders should wonder who is giving reggae a bad name.

so i have to wonder...do these "battyboys" like wear a sign or something so you can tell who they are when they "putting their hands up in the air" or do you just have some very good gaydar?

really though, you gots to be kidding.

and as for jahweek, how many tatoos you got? piercings? if the answer is one or more than how can you call yourself rasta? bob marley died largely because he refused to defile his temple by an operation on his toe. im betting you got a bleedin tattoo of bob on your arm.

right - there are probably no jamaican artists who condone the gay lifestyle,but on the other hand most do not go out of their way to bash. that is what is out of line, the bashing. what do you care what anyone else does as long as it does not infringe on you???? do you care if someone owns a cat? do you care if someone only likes the color yellow? do you care if someone is a vegetarian? so why do you care if someone if gay??

Like I said before, many of them are drawn to me for whatever reason, so it does bother me. Of course, I did start this thread to shake up the board & burn some fire, knowing it would cause a negative reaction. LOL
BUt seriously, I don't buy the arguement, on the whole, that gay people just want to live their lives & be left alone. You only need to turn on the TV or read a paper to see that isn't true.

Quote:
"how many tatoos you got? piercings? if the answer is one or more than how can you call yourself rasta?"
Maybe in some eyes but.........
What is really important is what one have in the heart. If you are right with Jah, right with your bredren and sistren, you follow Jah teachings, what more can one want ?
It's not the outside, yah nah haffi dread to be rasta.

Jahmeek and Chimino and Forward......only posts here dealing in true wisdom. The rest of you can say what ever you want, but there will come a day when every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord over all. And the burning of funny man and crew comes straight from Him. Whether it be from the depths of hell or from the Father's side.......you will bow. BOOM! Nuff respect Jahmeek, Chimino, for not being afraid to express these truths in the face of such popular opposition.
Ites-
Stevo

the homophobia in JA is not rational. just look at the quantity of men who die every year from undetected prostate cancer. they wont see a doctor because of the "glove" if you know what I mean. so they die. natural selection at it's finest.

I personally didn't see an annoying amount of homosexuality at ROTR last year. I am also immune to that side of the game because I am from S.F. It seems like you couldn't find anyone to cuddle up with for the weekend. I feel you. I had a couple of opportunites but that wasn't the main reason for me to go to the festival. No one knows who you are. We in Cali don't care about making enemies. We want you to come out and have a positive and open outlook so we can strive for tolerance and world peace. A lot of people seem upset by your comment. I respect you for your comment and I know how it is to be to expect one thing and find another. I am not gay but I feel we are one people under Jah's blessings. My suggestion is, have fun and let the females come to you.

Respect Stevo.
bun, your reasoning is not very rational. Prostate cancer is caused primarily by the consumption of unnatural foods, not one's unwillingness to "turn-head-and-cough".
Also I don't think "homophobia" is the correct term to use here. I fear noone, let alone men in tight pants. I doubt they fear the battyman in JA either.

Ok Deesoul, I respect your opinions also. This isn't so much about the females (big up all Empress) but your post makes sense...especially the Belly of the Beast sentiment, which we have to endure daily here by the Bay.
jjlab, take your own suggestion and get a bloodcloth life...bout banning someone just because they don't fit into your idealist package of what reggae music should be.

Damn, one more response:
"how can you be so hateful to jah's creation?"

It's not about hate, it's about pointing out what is wrong. Child molestors and other such deviants are also products of Jah, and claim Jah created them that way, but is it normal, acceptable behavior?

Acacia, I said that in reference to self-defense and questioning whether I would have to be overly-observant against a certain element. There is a difference between being guarded and being fearful.
And where did I claim to be Rasta? The Rastas I know, true Rastas, have never been afraid of controversy, if they were in the right.

MOVEMENT OF JAH PEOPLE: Gladstone Robinson, a former Mar Vista mail carrier, moved to Ethiopia in 1964 to live on land granted to repatriates by Ethiopia's last emperor. "Other people have their Mecca, their Jerusalem. This is ours," Robinson said. --065254.MN.0528.Rasta.2--Shashamane, Ethiopia--Gladstone, man from Rasta community in front mural depicting the Lion of Juda, for the Rastas, an important symbol from the old testament, or Abyssinian Lion, symbol of the emperor of the dynasty of which emperor Haile Selassie was the last.
Photo/Art: Sven Torfinn / For The Times

Rastafarians struggle for their dreams
Those who trekked to Ethiopia in 1960s facing insecurity and many questions

By Davan Maharaj
The Los Angeles Times

SHASHEMENE, Ethiopia -- This was the Promised Land, a place where people stolen from Africa would one day return to reclaim their homeland and their pride.

And Gladstone Robinson was one of the early returnees. In the 1960s, the former Mar Vista, Calif., mail carrier joined throngs of Jamaicans and other West Indians trekking back to live on land granted to them by Ethiopia's last emperor, Haile Selassie.

Forty years later, Robinson and others who stayed are still chasing their dreams, battling insecurity, grinding poverty and reluctant hosts who don't quite understand why they came in the first place.

"This is my birthright, to move back to Africa," said Robinson, 73. "Other people have their Mecca, their Jerusalem. This is ours."

Repatriates from the West Indies, Britain and the United States keep trickling to Shashemene, a dusty market town about 150 miles south of Addis Ababa, the capital.

The hard life here has cast a shadow on the hopes of a homecoming. Hunger, disease and poverty have led to the movement of Jah people, as they like to call themselves, in the opposite direction. Robinson, who settled here in 1964, said the community has been reduced from about 2,500 people in the 1970s to no more than 250 people.

One recent day, Robinson's neighbor, Ras Mweya Massimba, a 39-year-old Jamaican who lived most of his life in London, said he knew why so many people have left Shashemene and why "not one of my blood" has come to visit during his seven years in this Horn of Africa country.

"For some people, Shashemene is their worst nightmare," said Massimba, a video producer who runs a small video rental business. "They think of Africa as a place of war, famine and disease and see Shashemene as part of that. We have to work to prove them wrong."

Shashemene owes its genesis to the Jamaican-born black nationalist Marcus Mosiah Garvey, who prophesied in the 1920s that a black king would rise up to redeem people from the African diaspora. When Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned Emperor Haile Selassie at his 1930 coronation, the Rastafarian movement took off in Jamaica -- and across the globe.

Selassie's coronation came during an era when leaders of the Pan-Africanist movement worked to unshackle themselves from European history, culture and religion. Many people saw Ethiopia's uncolonized society, its ancient kingdoms, contributions to biblical scriptures, and world-famous architecture and monuments as evidence that Africans belonged to a great culture.

For many blacks who believed Garvey's back-to-Africa message, the dream of repatriating drew closer to reality when Selassie granted 500 acres of his personal land to thank Jamaicans and other blacks who had helped him defeat the invasion of Ethiopia by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

Rastafarians' interest in Ethiopia surged during the next three decades thanks to the popularity of reggae and its high priest, the late "Master Rasta" Bob Marley -- hailed by some as the most influential musician of the last 50 years. Robinson, the former mail carrier, was already in Shashemene when the tiny exodus of blacks from Babylon, as Rastas call the West, began.

Robinson was among the first 20 settlers of the land. As an army medic in the Korean War, Robinson served alongside Ethiopian soldiers and was struck by their pride and history.

"These people had a beautiful culture, and it left me asking myself, 'Where is mine?"' he said. "I decided to come and reclaim what was beaten out of us."

In the last four decades, Shashemene has taken on some Caribbean flavor. The newcomers renamed the single-lane road that cuts through the town the King's Highway, after Emperor Selassie. A Trinidadian recently opened a bakery that serves patties and other Caribbean delights. Dreadlocked Rastafarians walk the streets, peddling their T-shirts and handicraft. Reggae stars visit often, especially in July to commemorate Selassie's birthday. And the smell of ganja, or "wisdom weed," as Rastafarians call marijuana, wafts from the shipping containers that serve as houses for some people.

Robinson said that in the 1970s, repatriates ruled Shashemene. But in 1974, the community changed when Selassie was overthrown by Lt. Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam, whose Marxist regime later killed the emperor and buried his body in an unmarked grave.

Even though Mengistu's atheist regime tolerated the Rastafarians, many repatriates fled, giving up their land. Some merely wanted to escape the repressive government, others the destitution of one of the world's poorest countries. Repatriates who left behind modern technology in cities such as London, Paris and even Kingston, Jamaica, were shocked to see that one of the main modes of transportation in Shashemene involved donkey-drawn carts with bare metal wheels.

Indeed, less than a half-hour drive from Shashemene, a prolonged drought is exacting a heavy toll on Ethiopians, killing dozens of children under 5 years old and leaving thousands more "on the edge of death," in the words of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Such dire poverty caused Robinson's first wife to return with their five children to Bakersfield, Calif. He also lost his second wife, an Ethiopian who went to New York to become a nurse's aide.

"She called and said she's not coming back," Robinson said. "She said she was not leaving her comfortable life in America for this."

He and his third wife, Yeshi, a 25-year-old Ethiopian whose father was a Jamaican repatriate, and their two children survive on $800 he receives in Social Security and veterans' benefits.

Despite learning to speak Amharic, the lingua franca of much of Ethiopia, Robinson and other repatriates are still called farenge, or foreigner, by their neighbors.

Many Ethiopians say they don't understand Rastafarians, especially their insistence that their messiah, Haile Selassie, is not dead.

"The only thing we like and understand about them is their reggae," said Berhane Mebratu, a Shashemene resident. "They're not real Ethiopians and, as hard as they try, they never will be."

Immigration officials sometimes deport repatriates whose visas have expired, especially if they are caught with marijuana.

"I didn't have any passport or visas when I left Africa, so I don't understand why they asked for these things when we come back," said a repatriate who identified himself only as a former resident of the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.

Robinson said that after 40 years he was thinking of applying for Ethiopian citizenship, although his U.S. passport was useful when he was mugged recently -- the fourth violent robbery he has suffered in four decades -- and had to travel to New York to remove a blood clot in his head.

(Optional add end)

One recent morning, Robinson and Masimba sat in the latter's video store, which rents mainly black movies. Favorites are "Malcolm X," "Amistad" and "When We Were Kings."

It was 8 a.m. and the men were enjoying their morning smoke. Robinson described himself as the Moses of Shashemene, saying that despite the enormous problems, he believed it was his duty to stay and welcome newcomers to Africa. "This is not ideal, but it is a place I could call my own," he said.

Masimba too was upbeat. Life in Shashemene was indeed tough, he said, but they needed more repatriates to help them realize the dream.

As he spoke, a documentary he recently produced played on a small television. It showed idyllic scenes of Shashemene, with women drawing water from a clear river and unbridled horses running in the streets.

The film, which is sent to black communities across the globe, features repatriates with the same message: "Africa is waiting."

World of Confusion! No hate, just a steadfast plea for truths and right. All out of love, love for homosexuals because God has stretched out his hand to them as well. But if no one says "Hey! Wha Gwaan here?! Jah no like dat!", it's not like their gonna find out by continuing to raise and praise their God(sex). Strictly love, not fear coming from I&I. But to the opposition in this thread, I have to ask, what are your intentions for burning out I&I reasoning on this issue. Love for the batty guy and not me, is not love at all. Vanity, is the root of homosexualty, as well as all kinda wrong. Meditate.
Ites-
Stevo

We must reason with respect and stop all the name calling. If a "confrontation" occurs during a protest what is the result? If one group see the other as only "Them" and vice versa...then the result is an increase in polarization and distance between them. Each returns to it's headquarters (or in this case keyboards) and plans an increase in it's own strength to overcome "Them"
Why does the distance increase? Because nobody wants to be "Them", Everyone wants to be "Us" (or as far as rasta lingo "I&quot And if you meet someone who sees you as "Him" or "One of Them" that meeting arouses in you all your paranoia and you in turn see the other person as "Him" or "One of Them"
Such cycles get worse and worse until there is another (sometimes violent) confrontation. What is the conscious alternative?
It is not to avoid protest or confrontation. Rather it is for the participants to be more "conscious" And what does that mean?
It means that though you may protest an act, against someone or some group, realize that behind the ways in which you differ, you are the same. That is, you understand protest as a form of social communication among "US"! ...and that where it counts there is only I an I an I an I, seen? It includes black and white, young and old, gay and straight, man and woman, Isreali and Palistinian, rich and poor etc.
So the simple rule is:
YOU MAY PROTEST IF YOU CAN LOVE THE PERSON YOU ARE PROTESTING AGAINST AS MUCH AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF.
You may disagree with all of their values, but behind all of them...Here We Are....all manifestations of the spirit.
And as I said before I don't agree with homosexuality or sexual immorality but I always remember when when Christ saved the prostitutes life by saying "He who is without sin cast the first stone" which puts us all on a level playing field.
Thus, I believe that everyone should just work on themselves in Jah sight, in order to meditate to find the center where "we all are" within himself , so then we can meet with others in that same place and reason without name calling, then we decrease polarization and increase the unity we all share, and Forward the Kingdom of JAH!!!
ForwardZion..............

so now what forward? i* remember a few yearz back when a somebody tryed to start a gay rasta group on yahoo. iz dis just shamless or what? iz dis tha kind of future iNi should look forward to? most sadley not. JAH come nock down dem babywrong towerz everytime. and if he needz sum help pon mother earth i* stand guard protecting the very foundation of life. go mek a gay reggae fest i* say to ya sex drive & c' what kind of support iNi give. i* nah hate i* brother. i* for one beleive a change iz in order datz all. i* nah chat about hanging tree & no killing spree like sum more extrem clots cross into. but the logic must get trampled again just like history has shown iNi in our rootz az time repeats itself in dis crucial event. keep the concious message clear that iNi do have morelz. and when u give up an inch dem try for the mile. keep theological virtue to yourself & ill be sure nah to visit any gay barz, ect.. -RASpects+

This is just plain stupid! I got about halfway through this post and realized I'm dealing with a bunch of people who can't be reasoned with. Why are you guys still trying to make your point? It's not like you're getting anywhere. All I want is to hear some solid reggae and burn up the good kali while hangin' with good people. If that is a crime then so be it. Quit preaching to the choir and start your own church or something.

I think its good for people to reason about things ,no need to personaly attack eachother with rude insults because you have a difference of opinion. but i think forwardzion already said that ) lets try it

try to think for yourself (some a you people). hint: quoting reggae lyrics doesnt count as "thinking for yourself". you are not sizzla. you are not bob marley. you are not even Lyrical Benjie. deal with it.

while youre at it, meditate on this: Jah made all things for a reason. that "reason" is probably not to give you something to quote in lieu of using your brain. think about it.

why don't you just shut up about the gay thing jawweek? so what if there is a gay reggae group. live and let live. it is my understanding that you do not have to be rasta to enjoy reggae. i am not rasta and i enjoy reggae. i am going to bet that the vast majority of festival goers and music buyers are not rasta. should those who are not rasta be banned from going to reggae festivals and buying music? kerplop - there goes the reggae music industry i would guess. and hahahaha <keep theological virtue to yourself> - what the heck are you constantly spouting?? and regarding your "i have morelz" i am sure the kkk and the nazis had morals too. so join their company because your "morelz" are closer to them then to the fans of reggae music. i have noticed on almost every post where there is some type of disagreement that you always get in the last post, as if you are some type of final authority.. you jawweek are not representative of festival goers.

JB-
Did you ever think my stand point and or reason for it, isn't wrapped up completely in that tiny little post. You're trippin'. At least I don't call myself Jah...whatever, and condone for homosexuality. Or maybe you don't think it's OK.......then speak up.
Does my quoting reggae lyrics piss you off JB? I don't give a f**k!! said a....I said a....I don't give a f**k!!!!!!
-Stevo

hey the lyric(shine eye girl)is not coming origanally from sizzla anyways, before him was micheal Rose(BLACK UHRU) oh, but u probably don't know about them sorry!!
so really I'm not trying to not think for myself i just like that lyric and tie it togther with describing myself no frontin here girl!
it's all good though,
ONE!

wrong again jawweek - notice i was off the board for a while but you in your infinite babbling spounted off again (for no apparent reason) about gay reggae and not going to gay bars etc. i am not going to let you just post that stuff and then go abour your business. and yes, i am a farmer and i do have a pitchfork, a legitimate tool for my trade. unlike having a blunderbuss for a mouth shooting all sorts of nonsense. nuff said jawweek. give it a rest.

Yes, the statements from Jahmeek, Chimino, and steveo are very disturbing.. I support the freedom of speech, but when it comes to bashing gays, I have to get a word in.. I have been reading the post from these 3 for awhile and I am not impressed by anyone of those individuals.. I really find all of there post quite lame.. Really, lets all be honest with them. Chimio has not really said anything positive at all, in any of the post he puts up. Jahmeek I usually can't even read is gibberish, and when I start it loses me.. Lame.. Steveo... enough said you sound like a guy that wanted to jump on a bang wagon and you found it in those other 2.. Feel free to speak you mind, but for Chimino to post something like that, indicates this person in one bored individual that has a lot of time on his hands and has no respect for the over all human race...
What does one love mean???. Tell me???.
When I see bun_n_cheese, dirtweed, jb welda , fourtwentyplenty,solid rock and a lot of other peoples post I am super humored by their wonderful sense of humor and clarity on the subjects. I have never once seen such a gross use of the freedom of speech on this website. Until now... Enough said.. I am not going to waist anymore of my time on this thread.
Peace..

iNi all farmer by creation seen. concentrating on your contradiction & harborin' folly actz of the very law of creation, dat be your projective, u mek dis clear with a touch of grey. i* keep forwarding the message of the most high & u will bow to H.I.M..(just like when u bought a ticket to rasta stage school 2004* &year before dat) u really have no choice in da matter now dat u kno*. your projective efferts mean nothing to i* mon. u cant even come out of your nut shell & call i*name. try to be a mon & nah try to spend time with the false agro-culture of forbidden fruit harfestin'. keep it burning! JAH fyah get hottah & hotter everytime i*dren. cleanze your<"-">self wit it! itez*

sister lill'-> Jah*Luv iz nothing funny or humerous. serious reggae bizz iNi deal wit here seen. if u want to join the rankz of a party mentality datz iz good & try releive the stress babywrong putz on your head everyday with out tru satisfaction on a purpose besides pleasure & pain. so be it just dont get ofended because iNi hold roots up high for iNi to c'. gay iz happy to i*dat iz wha the father taught i* in a folly english translation & untill........ so take your attitude dat waz proped up by a madd gay scientist or someting & gwan cause the old testament waz busted open when selassie take his thrown & rome iz on itz kneez now in dis crucial time. life is not about sex & surley more not about meking wize crackz. with iNi holding it together how would u gay loverz maintain the cycle of life? adoption from our abused & mis-repersented children. just sad i*wail. go find your gaygea cd & c' how good it souNz compared to the tru messangerz of the most high Jah Rasta Far i*. itez*

> Rastafari is about life, creation, balance
> To create life there must be Man and Wombman, anything beyond
> that is up to the individual
Anything beyond that cannot create life, what happens when creation stops?

Simple truth spoken on the matter.

What does one love mean???
By all means, One Love is not the same as free love. RastaFarI/